Elite Dangerous: Arena offers pilots a taste of the Elite universe

Psst. Hey, kid, wanna get into starships? The first hit is really cheap. Frontier Developments has released Elite Dangerous: Arena, a standalone version of Elite: Dangerous' Close Quarters Combat (CQC) system. Check out the launch trailer below.

The regular Elite: Dangerous is an enormous sandbox game that players can get into and explore as they see fit. Arena takes the starships, ambience, and simulation technology from the full game and turns it into a PvP-specific combat experience.

Pilots can choose between four starships to fly in, and can gain access to combat loadout customizations by ranking up. Four combat arenas are available from the get-go, where pilots can go all shooty-boomy in three game modes: Free for All, Team Deathmatch, and Capture The Flag.

Moreover, there's an honest cash opportunity here. Frontier has a $100,000 stash to offer to the winner of an upcoming Elite combat tournament that'll include both CQC and Arena players. Players can enter spring and summer heats to gain access to the tournament, which will take place in a "secret location"—likely still on Terra, unfortunately.

The Elite Dangerous: Arena standalone is available for a mere $7.50 on Steam or the Frontier Store. Anyone that owns a copy of Elite: Dangerous already has access to Arena.